August 2019

Around About Olean

Trailhead Parklet

Olean, NY Lat.42.08North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY

Mayor Aiello cut the ribbon and opened Olean’s first “urban parklet”

on Friday July 19, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. at Trailhead Parklet on Whitney

Avenue.

Last year the City of Olean won a grant from KaBOOM!, the national

non-profit dedicated to play, and the Built to Play Initiative, support-

ed by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. The grant helped the City

bring a new, playful installation to help get more Olean kids playing.

“The City was very lucky to receive this grant,” Mayor Aiello said.

“Through the community-driven design competition, we were award-

ed a Play Everywhere project. Trailhead Parklet, is right in the heart

of downtown Olean and part of the Allegheny River Valley Trail.”

“This grant allowed us to transform a piece of property—the site of the old police station—

which has been vacant since the 1950’s, into a wonderland. Innovative equipment such as an

outdoor ping pong table, LED glow swings, a rock climbing wall, and outdoor musical instru-

ments will most certainly bring out everyone’s inner child.”

Mayor Aiello thanked KaBOOM! and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation’s Built to Play Initia-

tive for their support of

our community.

Through their grant, we

have another attraction

in Walkable Olean. He

also thanked the staff in

the City’s Community

Development Office and

the Department of Pub-

lic Works for working

diligently together to

make the parklet a reali-

ty.

From the Office of Mayor Bill Aiello

Olean, NY Lat.42.08 North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY August 2019 Page 2

It has been a great summer.

The gardens and planters on

North Union Street look great.

Thank you to our Beautification

Committee and our many vol-

unteers who weed and keep

our gardens under control.

We have had two ribbon

cuttings: The Homeridae LLC

Solar Farms and Trailhead

Parklet. In addition I attended

the ribbon cutting at the Tri-

County Arts Council which has

relocated to the first block of

West State Street. Nice to see

that those buildings that have

been long since forgotten have

a tenant again.

looking forward to cutting a

ribbon on that facility on 8/24.

Have you ever noticed how neg-

ative some of the social media

comments are when people talk

about Olean? I ask residents to

call my office if they have a

complaint and see if we can fix

it. So many members of our

community and our staff are

working nonstop to promote

Olean—attempting to get peo-

ple to move or start businesses

in our community. Unfortu-

nately, the negativity on social

media hinders our efforts.

Please! Before you hit send,

please give the City a chance to

mend!

Our Youth and Recreation De-

partment has kicked in to sum-

mertime mode. More concerts

in the park this year and very

well attended. The summer

youth recreation program is

very popular again this year and

once again a wide variety of

programming is available.

The City’s swimming pools are

getting plenty of use and new

this year—a roller skating pro-

gram in the Rec. Center Rink.

Construction is winding down

on “Lincoln Square” that is the

name that the Common Coun-

cil chose for the open air build-

ing in Lincoln Park. We are

Olean was at the forefront of industrial

development. When oil was discovered in our re-gion our City became a hub of activity and distribution of the natural resource.

In light of this, Olean in the 1880’s was growing quickly and a number of local busi-nessmen decided to experi-ment with electricity. Elec-tric power was in its very early stages of develop-ment: Thomas Edison had just opened the first Ameri-can power plant in 1882 when he successfully dis-tributed electricity to Pearl Street in New York City.

This group of Olean busi-nessmen took note of that and thought that the grow-ing City of Olean could ben-efit from electrical power. They formed Olean Electric Light and Power Company.

On May 14, 1888-they were successful when North Un-ion Street and West State Streets were powered-up. According to the Olean Evening Herald, the busi-ness district was filled with residents and City officials. Bands played as they wait-ed. The paper said that when the hour arrived, the switch was pulled and Ole-an took one of its greatest steps forward.

Gone was the unsteady flicker of the gas lamps. And in their place were 30 arc lights glowing with elec-tricity.

Mayor Aiello purchased Maureen LeBoeuf’s book

Developing Your Philosophy of Living and Leading:

One Moment at a Time. The former Maureen Keenan

was raised in Olean and had a career serving in the

United States Army. She earned the rank of Brigadier

General and was the first woman to chair a depart-

ment at the United States Military Academy at West

Point.

Retired Brigadier General LeBoeuf was at the June

StrOlean event signing copies of her memoir.

Congressman Tom Reed and Dis-

trict Director Alison Hunt stopped

by the City Building before a town

hall meeting at the John Ash Senior

Center on April 17, 2019. The

meeting was held to discuss Social

Security and Medicare.

Map to the left: Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Olean, Cattaraugus County, New York. Sanborn Map Company, Aug, 1891. Map.

https://www.loc.gov/item/sanborn06143_002/.

Olean, NY Lat.42.08 North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY August 2019

Page 3

Mayor Aiello presented Senator Catharine Young a Key to the City of

Olean at a celebration of her service as a State Senator, State Assembly-

man and County Legislator on June 8, 2019 at the Bartlett County Club.

In the special proclamation, Mayor Aiello said, “Catharine Young worked

tirelessly for her constituents throughout her tenure in public service:

she championed Kendra’s Law, she sought tax relief and responsible

government , she worked for increased school and library aid, she

worked to strengthen our local hospitals, and worked to grow manufac-

turing jobs and small businesses in our region”

Mayor Aiello added, “Catharine Young’s unwavering commitment to the

City of Olean has been apparent throughout her tenure. She was a driv-

ing force behind our community’s revitalization as she secured funding

to help refurbish Bradner Stadium and the William O. Smith Recreation

Center as well as to build the Farmers’ Market.”

“Catharine Young is not only a dedicated leader, she is a role model and a strong supporter of

the City of Olean,” Mayor Aiello said. “Therefore...I extend our appreciation for her 25 years of

service to our community. Her contribution to Olean is significant and accordingly, I hereby

present her with a Key to the City of Olean, New York.

Tribute to Senator Catharine Young

Mayor Aiello and family, as well as City of Olean Police and

Firefighters attended the National Children’s Day celebration

in Franchot Park on Sunday, June 9, 2019.

Children’s day has been celebrated in Olean since 1995. At

that time the city committed a portion of the park for a Chil-

dren’s Memorial Flower

Garden as a living memo-

rial to all children, living

or deceased, regardless

of race, color or religion.

And each year, on the sec-

ond Sunday in June, flowers

are planted in the garden to

make it a day of remem-

brance and commemoration.

National Children’s Day

June 9, 2019

Olean, NY Lat.42.08 North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY August 2018

Page 4

Mayor Aiello and officials from BQ Energy cut the ribbon and

announced the completion of Homeridae Solar Farm on July

17, 2019. The solar farm is located at 231 Homer Street, on

land that was previously the site of the oil refinery and stor-

age facility of Socony Vacuum which moved out of the area in

the 1950 s. After years of lying dormant, the former industrial

site was remediated under the New York State Brownfield

Clean-up program.

Homeridae has built a new 4,074 kilowatt solar system and

the electricity produced by the solar farm will be sold to the

City of Olean and significantly reduce the City’s electrical

costs.

“Converting a brownfield into a solar farm is another example

of Olean working toward making our city more sustainable,”

Mayor Aiello said. “By using solar energy, we are decreasing

the City’s electric bill and reducing the City’s carbon footprint.

We see this as a win-win for our citizens and the environ-

ment.”

Paul Curran, managing director of BQ Energy said, “Renewable energy, particularly solar, represents a vital part of

our energy future. Installing solar on brownfields makes particularly good sense since the land has limited applica-

tions.” This is the third project which BQ Energy has installed on Olean’s brownfields.

Other speakers at the event included Assemblyman Joe Gilgio, Davetta Thacher, Senior Project Manager repre-

senting NYSERDA and the New York Green Bank, and Paul Kazmierczak , Jurisdiction Manager from National Grid.

Olean residents gathered together on Memorial Day to re-

member the great sacrifices made by our military to protect

our freedom.

Mayor Aielllo said, “Memorial Day

brings our community together in a very

special way: we congregate to watch

the parade, we stand by the river for

the wreath ceremony and we gather here in Veterans Field of Honor.

He added, “We should remember that the people we memorialized today were

not just heroes and patriots, They were husbands, wives, sons, daughters, moth-

ers and fathers. They we somebody’s best friend. Since we can no longer thank

them, it is so important to remember and honor them as we do today.”

Olean Solar Farm

Mermorial Day in Olean 2019

Olean, NY Lat.42.08 North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY May 2019

Page 5

Olean’s Special Olympians brought home numerous medals this

year, a great job by all the athletes. Mayor Aiello and Youth and

Recreation Director Chris Shewairy were lucky enough to see

the bowling team off as they traveled to Vassar College in

Poughkeepsie, NY (pictured on the top right).

At the July 23, 2019 Common Council Meeting the members of

both the swim team and the bowling team were recognized.

Members of the bowling team included: Adam Bennet, Christo-

pher Case, William Fye, Ray Gynnip, Stephen Hornaday, Vicki

Lemon, Matthew Mitchell, and Larry Ordway. The coaches were

DR. Carl and Marsha Case.

The swimming competition took place at the University of Buffa-

lo. Members of the swim team included: Ben Goldberg, Dora

Seymour, Cameron Roulo, Anne Daniels, Stephanie Vanderhoef,

Rebecca Nagel, and Joshua Gagliardo. The coaches were Tayor

Gnan, Amy Williams, Tammy Goldberg, and Jean Gagliardo.

Congratulations to all.

Tribute to Olean’s Special Olympians

Olean, NY Lat.42.08 North—Long 78.43 West—Olean, NY August 2019

You can reach the mayor at his office in

the Olean Municipal Building at 101

East State Street in Olean, or by phone

at 716 376-5615, or by e-mail at waiel-

lo@cityofolean.org

“I’m open to suggestions and I’d like

to hear from people. If we’re doing

something you think is right, I’d like

to know. If we’re doing something

you think is wrong, I’d like to know.

If you have suggestions for me, I beg

you pass them along.”

—Mayor Aiello, January 2, 2014

Mayor Aiello is availa-ble to perform mar-riage ceremonies in the City of Olean. Please call his office (376-5615) for more details. There is no set fee, however any donations will be placed in the Mayor’s Scholarship

Fund.

New York State law requires you to obtain a marriage license twenty-four hours prior to a marriage ceremony. For more information about marriage licenses please call the Depart-ment of Vital Records at 376-5605 or the City Clerk at 376-5604.

Many marriages are performed right in the Mayor’s Office. The John Ash Community Cen-ter on Barry Street is an excellent spot for a reception as are Olean’s various parks facili-ties. For more information on the city’s facili-ties please call 376-5666.

Making Wedding Plans?

Page 6

The Olean Senior Center located at the John Ash Community Cen-ter on North Barry Street has many activities and programs for those age 55 and above. The monthly calendar is now on the city’s website under the Youth and Recreation Department-Olean Senior Center.

For more information please con-tact: 376-5670 or seniorcent-er@cityofolean.org.

The City’s website is great source of up-to-date information. Please visit it at cityofolean.org. In addition the city has a Face Book page and Twitter feed—all are excellent sources for information.

Seniors are Never Bored

In Olean

Olean has been lucky enough to receive grants and other assistance

to help finance the reconstruction of East State Street and North Un-

ion Street, to refurbish the William O. Smith Recreation Center, as

well as to build the field house at Bradner Stadium and Lincoln

Square in Lincoln Park.

But Olean is most fortunate to have residents, businesses and service

organizations who support our community in numerous ways. For

example the Olean Rotary Club, which originally built the gazebo in

Lincoln Park, is in the process of upgrading the facility. The group has

added an entrance—opening it up to allow a better viewing experi-

ence at events that take place in the park.

Our Beautification Committee worked throughout the winter to plan

upgrades to our gardens and spent days arranging the flowers in the planters that you see along the street and in front

of Bradner Stadium. Each year Lila Ervay organizes a group of individuals who spend hours picking up litter and dispos-

ing of it. We have a group of gardeners who pull weeds and keep the rain gardens spruced-up. Lana Waterman and the

group at the State and Union Facebook Page, post beautiful photos of our community giving our residents and former

residents a chance to see why Olean is a special place.

I want to thank everyone who has volunteered in someway to make Olean not just a City, but a wonderful community.

And please continue the good work— your contributions are making our hometown, Olean, a place to be very proud of.

Mayor’s

Corner